2006 Exam

1. Lawyer Jokes: Attend Professor Marc Galanter's lecture
at 4 pm on 6 April in the Moot Courtroom. Identify themes and arguments
that he makes during the course of his lecture. Critically examine his
arguments and themes using the primary and secondary reading for the course.
Your answer should make an argument and must include critical analysis of at
least one lawyer joke.

2. Family Law: Consider the history of family law since
the 17th century. To what extent is the history of family law distinct
from, parallel to, or identical with the rest of American Legal History?

3. WOL? Consider the legal arguments that Americans have
used to take Indian lands since the colonial period. What is the
relationship of these arguments to other arguments that Americans have made
concerning legal change? For example, has efficient use of resources been
the driving force behind most shifts in legal thought or activity? Is
Friedman right that that Widespread Ownership of Land (WOL) is nearly always the
driving force? Or is there some other, better argument that you can make?

4. 20th Century: Part IV of A History of American Law
is new in the 3d edition. Read these chapters and write a critical review
of them that evaluates this new section of the text using the remainder of the
text and the primary sources that you read for the course.

5. Harry Potter: Make an argument that the teaching of
magic and the teaching of the history of magic at the Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry usefully illuminates the history of the legal
profession, the history of law, or both. For your argument, you must rely
on the Harry Potter books not just the movies. Be careful to avoid simply
stringing together amusing comparisons; you must make a real argument.

6. A better story? Is there a better
American Legal History than the one that Professor Russell has presented? Are
there gaps, blind spots, or whole areas of untouched detail that form a superior
alternate narrative of the history of law and the legal system in the United
States? Religion, for example, might be a key thread that links the history of
the American legal system together. There are many other possibilities, too.
If you answer this question, you will need to use materials from outside
course—something that is not a requirement for other questions. Note, too, that
you will need to define what you mean by better or superior.

7. Backing away from the Demos: Many
historians make some version of the argument that the course of American history
has been to become steadily more and more democratic. However, is the opposite
true? Is one important and perhaps dominant narrative of American legal history
the backing away from the concept of democracy? Again and again, Americans have
faced opportunities to expand the reach of democracy and have recoiled. Like
the famous comic strip character Pogo, Americans have “met the enemy and he is
us.” Make an argument regarding the American propensity to back away from
Democracy.

8. Big Cases and Real Life: Discuss the

Dred Scott

,

Plessy

, and

Brown

. Think about these United
States Supreme Court cases and the links that the opinions in these cases had to
American society at the time. To what extent did these cases reflect accurately
American society at the time? Highlight the ramifications of the decisions at
the time and what future impact they had on society. What do these cases tell
us about the relationship of law and society?